Manufacture of mirrors with translucent color decorations.



UNITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

EDUARD WAGNER AND GOTTFRIED LORENZ, OF VIENNA, AUSTRIA- HUNGARY.

MANUFACTURE OF MIRRORS WlTH TRANSLUCENT COLOR DECORATIONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 689,525, dated December 24, 1901.

Application filed February 4, 1901. Serial No. 46,015. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: position gum-arabic is or may be added. As Beit known that we, EDUARD WAGNER and a body material we may use printers varnish GOTTFRIED LORENZ, subjects of the Emperor or printers ink, or both, of any desired color, of Austria-Hungary, and residents of Vienna, which is reduced to the proper thickness by r in the Province of Lower Austria, Empire of a diluent, as turpentine. This composition Austria-Hungary, have invented certain new will dry very slowly, and the presence 'of the anduseful Improvements in the Manufacture oil of cloves and glycerin softens the same of Mirrors with Translucent Color Decorawhen exposed to the action of heat. This tions; and we do hereby declare the following composition is sufliciently attenuated to 6: 10 to bea full, clear, and exact description of the adapt it for use with a brush or as a printers invention, such as will enable others skilled ink, the pattern being then painted by hand, in the art to which it appertains to make and though we prefer to print the same on the reuse the same. fleeting material or back of the mirror, as

This invention has relation to the art of orthis saves a great deal of time and labor. 15 namenting mirrors; and it has for its object The printing may be effected in any wellaprocess whereby either transparent or transknown manner. After the pattern has been lucent ornaments can be rapidly and ecoformed on the reflecting material the latter nomically produced and very artistic effects as well the pattern are coated with a thin obtained. coating of a substance that will become hard 2 The invention consists, essentially,in fOllD- and brittle on drying. To this end we may ing a pattern of the ornamention or design use any suitable varnish dissolved in a readon the reflecting materiali; 6., on the back ily-vaporizable solvent, though we prefer to of the mirrorwith a substance that will dry use a solution of shellac. After the thin slowly or that will become soft on exposure to coating of varnish has become dry, hard, and 25 heat, or both, and in then coating with a subbrittle a slight pressure will break the same stance or composition that will become hard along the contour of the softer material of and brittle when dried or that will dry rapidly the pattern, while said coating of shellac and become hard and brittle when dry. This tenacionsly adheres to the reflecting material, coating is then allowed to dry or is dried by exso that the softer composition can be readily o posure to heat, the substance with which the wiped off, together with its coat of varnish, patternis formedbeingthen removed,together which does not so tenaciously adhere thereto with the reflecting material laid bare by such and is readily broken up. The pattern comremoval. In this manner we obtain a negative position is now removed, as is also the reflecttransparent pattern, which is or may then be ing material laid bare by such removal, there- 35 colored, and if a translucent design is desired by leaving a transparent negative stencil-like it is colored with a translucent color or colors pattern with very sharp outlines,requiringbut or inks. little if any retouching. The removal of the We will now describe in detail the manner pattern composition can be effected with any in which our invention is carried out. suitable soft material, as wash-leather or a 40 The composition we use for forming the derag or any suitable textile material. The resign or ornamentation on the reflecting mafleeting material of the mirror thus laid bare terial or back of the mirror is, as stated, one is then removed by any well-known means, which will dry slowly or which will become as by friction, which in most kinds of mirsoft under the action of heat and which can rors will be sufficient, though a solvent may 45 be applied by a brush or by impression. To be used, thus leaving a transparent negative this end we make use of what we may term an pattern, which is then colored either by hand ink or composition, consisting of oil of or by printing, and in thelatter case but little cloves, glycerin, and a suitable filler-that is retouching is necessary if any care at all is to say, a material that will give sufficient taken, and if the design is to be translucent I00 50 body to the composition to adapt it for use translucent colors or inks are used. Exceedwith abrush or for printing-and to this comingly beautiful and highly artistic opaque or translucent ornamentations can thus be produced in a simple and rapid manner and at a comparatively small cost.

The proportions of oil of cloves and glycerin may vary considerably and depend in a measure on the time that may elapse between the formation of the pattern and the coating with shellac and the time required for drying such coating. If the several steps of the process are carried out in rapid succession-that isto say, immediately one after another-the composition may simply be one that will not dry during thertime it requires to apply and dry the coating of shellac, the proportions of glycerin and oil of cloves being then smaller than they would be if the shellac coating were applied some time after the formation of the pattern, which would then be produced by a composition that will not only'dryslowly, but that will soften when exposed to heat.

In practice we prefer to carry out the process in as rapid a manner as possible with a view to economy and to decreasing the possibility of the inked-in pattern drying before its removal is attempted. To this end we use, as stated, a solution of shellac instead of ordinary varnish thinned with a more or less highly vaporizable solvent, the coating of the reflecting material and pattern following immediately after the printing of the latter'on the reflecting material and the drying of the shellac coating byheat followingimmediately after the coating, while the removal of the pattern follows immediately after the shellac coating has hardened and become brittle.

It will of course be understood that by design we do not limit ourselves to any particular style or species of ornamentation, as there is, so to speak, substantially no limit to the kind or species of designs, pictures, 850., that can be made use of as a means for ornamenting mirrors.

. The ornamention on the back of the mirror may of course be protected from injury in any desired manner.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The process, which consists in forming on the reflecting material of a mirror a pat tern of any desired ornamental design with a substance that can be wiped off, superimposing a frangible layer on said pattern and on. the adjacent or surrounding reflecting material that cannot be removed therefrom by wiping, wiping off the aforesaid substance with the frangible layer covering the same and removing the reflecting material laid bare without altering the surface of the glass of said mirror, for the purpose set forth.

2. The process, which consists in forming on the reflecting material of a mirror a pattern of any desired ornamental design with a substance that can be wiped off, superimposing a frangible layer on said patternand on the adjacent or surrounding reflecting material that cannot be removed therefrom by wiping,. wiping off the aforesaid substance with the frangible layer covering thesame and removing the reflecting material laid bare without altering the surface of the glass of said mirror and coloring the transparentstencil-like pattern thus produced, for the purpose setforth.

3. The process, which consists in forming on the reflecting material of a mirror a pattern of any desired ornamental design with a substance that can be wiped ofl, superimposing a frangible layer on said pattern and on the adjacent or surrounding reflecting material that cannot be removed therefrom by wiping, wiping off the aforesaid substance with the frangible layer covering the-same, and, removing the reflecting material laid bare without alteringthe surface of the glass of said mirror and coloring the transparent stencil -1ike pattern thus produced with a translucent color or colors, for the purpose set forth. j

4. The process, which consists in forming on the reflecting material of a mirror a pattern of any desired ornamental design with a slowly-drying substance, coating the pattern and adjacent or surrounding reflecting material with a substance that will dry rapidly and become hard and brittle, drying the same and removing the slowlydrying substance with the frangible layer covering the same .andthen the reflecting material laid bare without altering thesurface of the glass of said mirror by such removal, for the purpose set forth.

5. The process, which consists in forming on the reflecting material of a mirror-a pattern of any desired ornamental design with a slowly-drying substance, coating the pattern and adjacent or surrounding reflecting material with a substance that will dry rapidly and become hard and brittle, drying the same and removing the slowly-drying substance with the frangible layer covering the same and then the reflecting material laid bare by such removal without altering the surface of the glass of said mirror,and coloring the transparent stencil-like pattern thus produced, for the purpose set forth. a

6. The process, which consists in forming on the reflecting material of a mirror a pattern of any desired ornamental design with a slowly-drying substance, coating the pattern and adjacent or surrounding reflecting material with a substance that will dry rapidly and become hard and brittle, drying the same and removing the slowly-drying substance with the frangible layer covering the same and then the reflecting, material laid bare by such removal without altering the surface of the glass of said mirror,and coloring the trans parent stencil-like pattern thus produced with a translucent color or colors, for the purpose set forth.

7. The process which consists in forming upon the reflecting material of a mirror a pattern of any desired ornamental design with a substance that will dry slowly and become soft on exposure to heat, coating the pattern and the adjacent or surrounding reflecting material with a substance that will dry rapidly and become hard and brittle when exposed to heat, and that will adhere firmly to said reflecting material, exposing the surface so prepared to heat and removing the hard brittle coating overlying the softened material together with the latter and then removing the reflecting material thus laid bare Without altering the surface of the glass of said mirror, whereby a stencil-like'transparent pattern is obtained, for the purpose set forth.

8. A mirror having a design in translucent pigments applied directly. to the surface of the glass and the outline of which is in juxtaposition to the reflecting-surface, whereby the design can be viewed by both transmitted and reflected light, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention we have signed our names in presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

EDUARD WAGNER. GOTTFRIED LORENZ.

Witnesses:

J OSEF RUBASOHT. ALVESTO S. HOGUE. 

